BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
A fruit seller, Bridget Elom, who was hit by stray bullets during an exchange of gunfire between men of the Ebonyi State Police Command and some hoodlums, is dead.
The deceased widow, a native of Ezza North Local Government Area of the state was said to be selling fruits along roadside before pandemonium broke out between some cops and hoodlums.
It was gathered that Elom died from stray bullet injury she sustained on her head during gun duel at the busy and popular G-Hostel junction in Abakaliki the Ebonyi state capital on August 17, 2022.
The deceased, about 40 years old, was at the scene with her daughter attending to their customers before the attack that occurred at a nearby checkpoint in the area.
In an interview with the victim’s daughter, Oruebube Elom, she narrated that her mother was hit by the stray bullet while they were running away from the junction for safety.
Oruebube sought for financial assistance from good spirited people to sponsor the burial and take care of her education and those of her four younger siblings.
She said, “My worst pain is to watch my mother die without being able to help her. My mother was full of life when we went out that evening for business, but she didn’t come back alive. We missed our ways while running for safety. From the injuries on her body, it was like she was also hit by a vehicle.
“When we found her the following day and rushed her to AEFUTHA hospital, the doctor said she lost so much blood. We bought two pints of blood already and they were talking about an operation to remove the bullet from her head when she died.
“We are now orphans. My father died in 2020 and we have been managing with proceeds from my mother’s fruit business. Now, I am left alone with my four younger siblings without a mother or a father. She died because she was not given medical attention immediately we came. They kept asking for one paper or the other because of the bullet wound.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Superintendent of Police, Chris Anyanwu, said he was yet to be briefed on the incident.
